


Tale As Old As Time

by PumpkinPie (Bulsara)



Category: Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Animal Transformation, Best Friends, Bottom Gerard Way, Cuddling & Snuggling, Does this count as bestiality?, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling In Love, First Time Blow Jobs, Flashbacks, Freeform, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Hand Jobs, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Magic, Minor Character Death, Other, Top Frank Iero, i still don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-21 14:44:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17644775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bulsara/pseuds/PumpkinPie
Summary: Beauty and the Beast AULinda Iero gets lost in the woods. She stumbles upon a desolate castle, that has been forgotten by the world. On her way home she picks a rose for her son.Enter the landlord, who is furious at her for taking what is his. When she tells him that her child asked for the flower, he lets her leave and demands that child to return to him instead.A life for a rose. After all there is a curse to break.But when his hostage turns out to be an opinionated, unruly guy instead of a meek little girl, he has absolutely no idea how to deal with the situation.





	1. Down In The Forest

**Author's Note:**

> This has only very little to do with the Disney version. The first part of this story is inspired by a German and French collaboration from 2014, which is where most of the pictures are from. 
> 
> This is my first WIP, I hope I can keep a weekly schedule.
> 
> Warnings: minor character death, internalized homophobia, a bit of gore, pretty uhm... interesting smut later on ;)

 

Once upon a time in a kingdom far away, a young man and his mother lived in a cottage in the woods. They didn’t have much, but they got by. Linda Iero had been taught by her mother and grandmother to find and process medical plants, so she sold creams and salves on the markets of villages and towns nearby. Sometimes she was asked to treat a nasty wound or to be a midwife, but for the most part people left her and her son Frank in peace. Luckily they didn’t live in the dark ages anymore, but the community was still weary of herbal women and she knew for a fact that some of the elder villagers secretly called her a hag.

 

Her life would have been very desolate if it hadn’t been for her son. Frank was by far the greatest thing she had ever accomplished and even though she was sure that every mother would say the same, he was definitely the best young lad around. She still couldn’t believe that they had already celebrated his twenty first birthday a few days ago. Raising him on her own was the single hardest thing she had ever done. His father had gone to war before he was even born and never come home again, so she had worked until her fingers bled to make ends meet. But it had been worth it, he had grown up to be a hard-working, honest, spirited and (in her opinion) very handsome man. Any woman would be lucky to have him.

 

As she was sitting by the fire, plucking dried sage leaves off their stems, a knock on the door interrupted her daydreams of grandchildren running around the house. She was needed to deliver a babe in a town nearby and quickly got her bag and a cloak. When Linda entered their kitchen, her son brushed his dark, shoulder-length hair behind his ear and greeted her with a smile. “What is it this time?”, he wanted to know, his bright hazel eyes shining with curiosity. “A birth over in Summit, I hope it won’t take all night. Is there anything you need?”, she asked him, taking in the herbs, powders, tools and books, that littered the countertop. Just typical. Frank had never been one to run around the woods hunting or beat each other up with fists, swords or cudgels like his peers. He had always spent most of his time reading and experimenting.

 

“I don’t think you’ll be able to get it in this weather, but could you bring me a rose? Maybe I can cultivate it into a rose tree and plant it in the garden next year, apparently rose oil is anti-inflammatory”, Frank asked her with an apologetic smile. Linda turned around and frowned at the thin layer of ice, that obscured the view into the completely snowed up garden. Right. A rose. It would probably take some kind of magic to find any living plant out there right now.

 

Linda barely made it to Summit in time before the babe was born. Lois, her old mare, was long over the hill and it had started to snow after a few miles, which didn’t help the state of the roads. It was a simple affair and she was on her way again within an hour. By then the snow from earlier had evolved into a veritable blizzard. She could barely see the road in front of her horse, but since she didn’t want to waste the precious money she had just earned on a room in the local inn, Linda pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders, ducked her head and hoped that Lois would find the way home to her stable.

 

However, after she had ridden through the woods for a while, she realized that the trees around her didn’t look familiar anymore. She couldn’t be sure, it was just a gut feeling, but when she still hadn’t reached her cottage half an hour later, Linda had to admit that they had lost their way completely. And as if that weren’t bad enough in and of itself, suddenly a snow bank under Lois’ hooves gave way and they slithered down a steep slope, frantically trying to find hold somewhere.

 

Once she had finally come to a standstill, her entire body was aching and she gasped for breath. Linda’s ears were ringing and for a moment the world blurred before her eyes when she picked herself up and swayed on her feet. She turned around and sighed when she discovered the path of destruction their fall had left behind. Thank God it was winter and the snow had somewhat cushioned the landing. That was when she noticed the bloody bone, that protruded from Lois’ foreleg. Linda’s eyes burned with tears. Frank would be heartbroken, he loved her old mare like a family member. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry. And I don’t even have anything to end your suffering”, Linda murmured quietly, looking around for her bag in vain. Leaving her dying friend behind was one of the hardest things she had ever had to do, but what choice did she have? She had to keep moving and fight the cold as long as she possibly could.

 

Only a few minutes later her breath caught in her throat when she spotted a twinkling light in the distance. Linda sighed and managed a week twitch of her lips. She couldn’t wait to get back into her rocking chair by the fire and for this horrible day to be over. However, just as she took a few determined steps towards the flare ahead, she lost her footing again and went tumbling down a steep cliff. This time it took quite a bit longer to get up again, but she managed somehow, feeling every single one of her fifty years in her bones. One thing was for sure, whatever she had seen had not been her cottage, there were no precipices like this one anywhere near it.

 

Suddenly she realized that something was… strange. Only a few moments ago she had stood in the midst of a vicious blizzard, but down here a soft breeze was whispering through the leaves of all kinds of trees and rich green grass was covering he ground. Now that the snow was gone, she could make out an enormous castle a few hundred yards away. It was eerily quiet, there was no sign of life at all, except for the single light in the highest tower. Some kind of greens were entwined around everything in sight, it looked like the literal sleeping beauty palace. Linda felt more than uneasy about going in there on her own, but her feet and hands were still horribly cold and she really needed some help to find her way back home. Gritting her teeth, she put one foot in front of the other and crossed the bridge, that led to a heavy wooden main gate. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the shivering woman, four hushed voices were having a heated discussion in the dark.

_“She’s too old!”_

_“You can’t exactly afford to be picky, G!”_

_“I don’t give a damn!”_

_“But-...”_

_“No!”_

_“Come on, you could at least...”_

_“I said NO! I’ll give her something to eat, patch up that pathetic mare and send her on her way again. That’s final!”_

 

The portal opened with a loud creaking, but there was no one in sight when Linda entered and looked around. “Hello?”, she cried reluctantly, digging her fingernails into her palms and trying to remain calm. “Is there anybody here?”, Linda tried again when silence was the only answer she got. The door fell shut behind her and she swallowed hard before she ventured further and reached a heavily laden table. All of a sudden silver candelabras with dozens of candles lit up and she felt her mouth go slack. She had never seen so much food in one place, this was a feast fit for a king! Roast pheasant, lobsters, quails, wild boar, exotic fruits in all colors of the rainbow, artful gateaus and glass amphoras of wine. Only then did Linda realize how hungry she was. She hadn’t eaten for hours and nothing had ever looked and smelled so enticing.

 

But she couldn’t just help herself, right? Who was she to intrude here anyway? However, suddenly an empty silver plate and a crystal goblet of wine appeared out of thin air right in front of her. This had to be some kind of magic! How hard had she hit her head? Or was she dreaming somehow? A loud growl of her stomach shook her out of it. She was never gonna get another opportunity like this, she might as well make the most of it. The rich tastes exploded on her tongue, once she had started, she just couldn’t get enough. Linda frantically reached into every direction, taking just a little of each dish in an attempt to try it all. God, she was in heaven!

 

Before long she felt about ready to burst. Once she slowed down, she noticed quiet whispers in the dark. They seemed to come from the top of a huge marble staircase, that took up almost half of the room. “Hello?”, she shouted again, but once again silence was the only answer she got. Linda had half a mind to just man up and find out what was up there when a chandelier descended from the ceiling and illuminated two chests overflowing with pearls, gems, all kinds of jewelry. There were little crystal flacons filled with colorful liquids, an elaborate fan and the most magnificent evening gowns. She had only ever heard of such riches in fairy tales. “What is this?”, she murmured in awe, too stunned to move. And as if all that hadn’t been enough already, the clip-clopping of hooves on plaster came closer until Lois walked up to the treasure and nudged it with her nose.

 

Linda pinched herself. She could not believe what was happening. She had left her mare to die not even an hour ago and here she stood, with her forelegs bandaged and seemingly as good as new. In the blink of an eye the two chests hung from her saddle and the horse looked at Linda as if she wanted to say: ‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ The elder woman shook her head, still trying to make sense of it all. “I have absolutely no clue what is going on here, but… thank you”, she told the empty room. Once again there was no reply. So she followed Lois out the door and hoisted her poor, bruised body into the saddle. All she wanted was an arnica poultice and her bed. Or to wake up from this strange dream, whichever happened first.

 

Lois trudged across the bridge and along the remnants of a broad paved road. In the meantime Linda took in the completely overgrown park, that surrounded the castle. She wondered how it might have looked back when it was cared for, it had to have been absolutely magnificent. That was when she noticed the sweetest scent in the air and looked around to find the source of it. Her eyes widened when she set eyes on the biggest rose tree she had ever seen. It had to be seventy feet high, at the very least! Frank’s wish was all she thought off when she dismounted and stepped closer. Rose thicket surrounded the sinuous trunk and hundreds of deep red blossoms begged to be picked. She would never be able to choose the most beautiful one for her beautiful son, but then again, there were so many, she could just bring him an entire bouquet! Linda smiled to herself as she reached for the first one and snapped the stem.

 

Out of nowhere a deafening roar pierced the silence and she was thrown to the ground for the third time today, still holding the flower in her hand. This time however, there was something on top of her. Something big, with hot breath, that hit her face and long hair, that tickled her palms where it pinned her wrists to the ground. Linda was too scared to look at who- or whatever it was and squeezed her eyes shut, as if she were able to escape if only she didn’t have to see it.

 

“Have my gifts not been enough for you!? Do you have to steal what is most precious to me, as well?! THIEF!”, her captor growled, apparently seething with rage. This wasn't good, not good at all. “I didn’t steal anything! I just...”, Linda stammered meekly, but was cut off by a deep, threatening hiss. “Don’t. Lie. So. Brazenly! I made you a wealthy woman and you took one of my roses! You will pay for it! A life for a rose!”, the voice declared menacingly. At that Linda’s eyes flew open. The first thing she saw was some kind of fur and a set of horribly sharp, white fangs. Holy Mother have mercy! “Please! Please don’t!”, she whimpered, tears burning in her eyes. Oh God, she was never gonna see Frank again!

 

The monster above her snorted scornfully. “Why did you do that?”, it asked, its voice laced with agony. Linda frowned. She didn’t understand the sudden change of attitude. “M-My child… begged me for one”, she managed to say. The black lips of the creature on top of her distorted into a sly grin. “I changed my mind”, it purred, once again catching her off guard. “I give you one day to say goodbye to that child of yours. But tomorrow at sundown she has to come here to take your place. Don’t even think of tricking me or I’ll kill you both! Your mare will know the way. Just whisper into her ear: ‘Until the end of everything.’ Remember. Tomorrow at sundown!”

 

The next thing Linda knew, her captor was gone. Nothing she knew could move so quickly! It seemed like the last minute had never happened at all, but the throbbing in her wrists told her otherwise. She was shaking again, but this time it wasn't from the cold. Was she never going to wake up from this nightmare? Somehow Linda stumbled towards Lois and found herself in the saddle. She blindly urged her mare to run as quickly as she possibly could. Linda absolutely couldn’t fathom what had happened and how much of it was real. It had to be a dream! The thorns, that dug into her fingers where she clutched the rose felt scarily real, though, and a cold feeling of dread settled in her stomach. How could she let Frank, her only child, walk to his death at that monster’s hands? Only then did it register that the creature seemed to think that her son was actually a daughter.

  
~~~🌹~~~

  
Back at the castle four pairs of eyes watched the woman’s hasty retreat. “Hopefully that daughter is prettier than the mother”, growled the hoarse voice, that had threatened to kill her only moments ago. “How do you want to know that it’s a daughter at all?”, a second one pointed out. “Oh come on, why would a guy ask for a rose?”, the first one snarled as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.


	2. I'm ready for the Flight or to fall off a Cliff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to the people who commented on the first chapter and pointed out that the amount of pictures was distracting. I toned it down a bit and hope that it is better like his <3

Frank had just gone to bed when his mother banged on his window shutters. It had been their signal for years, whenever she came home after he had locked up for the night. He opened the back door and cursed under his breath when he set eyes on her torn cloak and the shallow scratches on her face. She looked like she had crawled through some kind of thorn thicket. Frank quickly led her into the room, gritting his teeth as he helped her hobble to her rocking chair and heard her hiss with pain whenever she put weight on her right leg.

 

“Mama, what happened?”, he ground out, crouching down in front of her and trying his best to reign in his raging fury at whoever had done this to her. What kind of person waylaid poor old women?! “I have absolutely no idea”, she whimpered. Next thing he knew she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms, almost knocking him over in the process. She clung to his neck for dear life, hysteric sobs tearing out of her chest and hot tears soaking his nightshirt. She mumbled some kind of nonsense about monsters and treasures and roast pheasant of all things. Frank had absolutely no idea what to make of it, but he kept stroking her hair and telling her that everything would be fine.

 

It felt like hours before his mother had calmed down enough to tell him her abstruse story somewhat calmly, only interrupted by quiet sniffles and occasional hiccups. Frank couldn’t fathom it at all until he noticed the rose she was still clutching in her hand, dried blood sticking to the stem where the thorns had pierced her skin. Next he remembered her words about a treasure and gently pushed her away to rush to the stable.

 

Lois was still standing in her stall with two big wooden crates strung to her saddle and gave him an equally exhausted and pissed off look, as if she wanted to say: ‘You’re never gonna believe what a day I’ve had!’Frank hurried to relieve her of her burden and wipe her down with a bit of straw before she collapsed in a corner. He could hardly carry the chests on his own and gasped when he lifted one of the lids. His knees gave out beneath him. This was batshit insane.

~~🌹~~

About an hour later Frank sat in front of the fireplace and stared into the dying embers. He had cleaned his mother’s cuts with sage paint, put some arnica, camphor and comfrey compound on her contusions, bandaged her distorted knee and her bruised ribs and made her some valerian tea to help her sleep, but the young man himself was wide awake. Her words kept repeating in his head.

_Tomorrow before sundown._

_Until the end of everything._

_A life for a rose._

Frank sighed heavily and rested his face in his hands. He had no idea what to do. There was no way they could ever hope to run away and start anew somewhere else. The weather didn’t really allow for any kind of traveling, his mother’s condition even less, and they didn’t have the necessary funds anyway. Everything of worth they owned were his books and the house his father had left to them after his death. But they couldn’t just stay here and wait for the ‘monster’ his mother had described to come for them. Frank knew that he wasn’t much of a fighter, he had never enjoyed the wrestling games and trials of strength his peers were so fond of, probably because he had been a pretty short and sickly child and it hadn’t gotten much better once he had become a man. That beast could probably end him in a matter of minutes, if he even lasted that long.

 

In the end there was just one logical course of action. Frank refused to endanger his mother in any way, not if he could help it. He loved her too much to put her at risk and let her die at the hands of some kind of abomination, that shouldn’t even exist in the first place. Thanks to the treasure in their stable she would be able to buy a little house in town and live the rest of her days quite comfortably without ever having to work again. At least he wouldn’t need to worry about her not making it through the next winter on her own.

 

Something wet and cold touched his fingers. Frank looked down and smiled sadly at Sweet Pea, his favorite person in the world. She was a little dog, but it was absolutely impossible to tell the breed. Her wiry gray fur stood up in all directions and her huge tongue constantly hung out of her mouth, as if it were too big to fit inside. He was aware that some people found her hideous, but to him she was the most adorable creature he had ever set eyes on, he had fallen in love with her the moment he had found her with one of her legs trapped in a snare wire a few years ago. They had been inseparable ever since. He couldn’t even imagine leaving her.

 

The thought of his best friend missing him after he was gone was what finally burst the floodgates open. Frank tried to muffle his sobs in the sleeve of his nightshirt, lest he wake up his mother, but he couldn’t keep it inside any longer. He had seen too many of their patients die, the topic of death wasn’t new to him, but somehow he had never even considered that it would be his time eventually. Because what else could that monster have meant by ‘a life for a rose’?

 

Frank never would have thought that he might not even live to see his 22nd birthday. There were so many things left undone! He had never gotten to see the world beyond the next few villages, there was so much he still wanted to learn about the human body, medicine and the plants he experimented with! His mother would never have the grandchildren she wanted so badly, because Frank had never been in love and had yet to find a wife and start a family. God, he would die a virgin. How pathetic was that?!

~~🌹~~

Frank awoke to Sweet Pea slobbering all over his face. His back was killing him, which wasn’t surprising considering he had fallen asleep on the floor by the fireplace once his crying fit had exhausted him. He gently pushed her away and stretched until his spine popped. It was utterly surreal to think that this was his very last day in his childhood home. He felt strangely detached from his surroundings and went to mechanically wash the disgusting mix of dried tears, snot and dog slobber off his face.

 

Alright then. If he was going to go through with this, he was gonna do it with his head held high and his dignity intact. He refused to turn up in his already pretty tattered working clothes on that monster’s doorstep, so he scrubbed himself clean, brushed his hair and put on his churchgoing outfit. Still, he was in no hurry to finish, so it was almost noon once he was done. Frank looked himself over in his tarnished old mirror and sighed heavily.

 

He placed a small roll of parchment on his pillow, grabbed his thickest winter cloak and cuddled Sweet Pea to his chest one last time, willing himself not to cry. He couldn’t bear to say goodbye to his mother. They would both break down completely and he didn’t want her to remember him as a sobbing mess on the kitchen floor. His farewell letter to her said it all. How much he loved her, that he was sorry for running away and that he would watch over her if the priests were right and this wasn’t going to be the end after all. The young man squared his shoulders, gritted his teeth and climbed out of the window. He didn’t look back when Lois galloped into the woods. Frank just wanted to get it over with.

 

Once they were a few miles away from home, he stopped his mare and bit his lips. Even though he had seen more than enough evidence that his mother had told him the truth, he still was a skeptic par excellence and didn’t really expect this to work. He very nearly fell off his horse when he bent forwards to whisper that overblown sentence and Lois darted into an opening in the brushwood Frank could have sworn hadn’t been there a moment before. The forest seemed to part in front of them like the Red Sea, but still some twigs and branches snapped against his skin and left burning scratches all over his hands and face. Suddenly a bright white refulgence appeared at the end of a narrow canyon and Frank felt himself growing lightheaded before he sacked against his mare’s mane and everything went black.

 

~~🌹~~

When he came to, it took him a few moments to get his bearings. Frank looked around and felt his mouth go slack as he stared at a huge ice cliff behind him and struggled to make sense of the fact that the valley ahead seemed to be stuck in summer. It was horribly idyllic, but considering what he had come here for, he didn’t give a damn about it. A mountain range enclosed a plain of lush grass, picturesque waterfalls gathered in little pools and creeks and birds were chirping all around him. It was definitely too warm for his winter wear, so he took off his heavy cloak, which was torn from his wild ride anyway.

 

As he ventured further, a majestic castle appeared behind a couple of trees. It was breathtakingly beautiful, yet completely covered in some kind of greens, interspersed with rose blossoms. An abyss separated him from the palace, a stone bridge spanning its depths. Frank didn’t dare look down when he crossed it with clenched teeth. He hated heights. And lying. And people who thought themselves better than others. And mushrooms. And spiders. Actually, anything with too many legs and eyes crept him out. Damn, thinking of all kinds of disgusting things didn’t exactly make him feel better.

 

~~🌹~~

Meanwhile four secret observers were watching the young man approach and trying to come to terms with a somewhat unexpected turn of events.

"I can’t believe that old hag actually sent me a guy!"

"I told you s-..."

"Shut up, Toro!"

"But seriously, you still can’t afford to be picky!"

"I’m a prince, I have to marry and produce an heir!"

"An heir to what, a pile of stones and green stuff?!"

~~🌹~~

Frank jumped violently when a deafening roar sounded from the castle, just as he was about to knock on the portal. He had no idea what was on the other side, but his mind had already had too much time to come up with all kinds of horror scenarios. Frank could envision sharp claws, maybe even with barbs, saliva dripping from several inches long fangs and a huge bulk of muscle and hair in sickening detail. That roar didn't make it better, on the contrary. He had never wanted to run and hide under his bed so badly, but the memory of his mother's horrified face the night before made him grit his teeth and open the door. He wasn't a coward. At least he wouldn't bleed out on some battlefield like his father or waste away for years like his grandparents.

  
 

When he entered the huge entrance hall, his eyes were immediately drawn to the feasting table his mother had told him about. Above it a golden clock showed three in the afternoon, an artfully carved fireplace illuminated the room and a massive staircase to his right led to the next floor. The omnipresent greens hadn't even balked at the interiors and entwined around every available surface, even the walls and the stag statues, that flanked the stairs. A small part of Frank's mind was wondering why nobody seemed to bother to keep the shrubs at bay, but now that he was here, he only wanted it to be over. So he took a deep breath and yelled: "Where are you? Come out!"

 

There was a furious growl while a flash of red darted down the stairs and something huge planted itself in front of him. For a moment all Frank could see was a broad chest clad in the most splendid ruby brocade doublet one could possibly imagine. He held his breath and looked up, refusing to be intimidated. Quite ridiculous puffed sleeves, an elaborate golden stand-up collar and... a head covered in brown fur with two piercing hazel eyes glaring daggers at him. The beast was so tall that Frank had to recline his head to look into its face, which made it all the more impressive when it bared two rows of glistening fangs and growled again. It was a deep, hostile sound, that made Frank's skin crawl. He was scared shitless, his heart was nearly beating out of his chest, but he refused to look away and lose this staring contest.

 

"Nobody talks to me like that!", it snarled and Frank couldn't help himself, he burst out laughing. It was such a ridiculous thing to fuss about his lack of manners when he was just waiting for the fatal blow! "Or what?", he ground out once he had somewhat calmed down and crossed his arms in defiance. Apparently he had caught the monster off guard, since it gaped at him and blinked a few times, as if it couldn't believe that he wasn't cowering in fear. “Do us both a favor and get it over with, will you?”, Frank added when the beast seemed to be at a loss for words and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see it coming.

 


	3. Casual Interactions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the events mentioned in this chapter will be addressed properly later on, so if you don't understand everything yet, please bear with me.

For a few seconds it was eerily quiet. All Frank could hear was his thundering heartbeat as the world around him seemed to hold its breath. Eventually the monster snorted and hissed: “What are you talking about?” The young man’s temper flared immediately. Seriously, it was playing dumb now!? “You’re gonna kill me anyway, get the fuck on with it!”, Frank ground out, throwing his captor his very best death glare. If he didn't know better, he'd say that the beast looked totally dumbstruck. It stood completely motionless and kept staring at him. However, after a few agonizing seconds, it bared its teeth again, growled: "Get out of my sight! Ray, show him to his room!", and with a dramatic swirl of its cloak it was gone.

 

Frank was left panting and trying to steady his shaking knees. He had no clue what was going on and the strange dog-like animal in front of him, that walked up the stairs as if it wanted him to follow, didn't make it better. It was maybe twelve inches tall and had a pretty big head with huge eyes and floppy ears, that were almost long enough to touch the floor. The rest of its body was weirdly small in comparison, Frank had never seen anything like it, but after everything that had happened during the last hours he was too emotionally exhausted to care.

The little creature led him through long, overgrown hallways, up a spiral staircase and over yet another vertiginous bridge to a separate building atop a rock formation. Frank had expected some kind of prison cell, but when he entered the room, he felt his mouth go slack. It was a round chamber with little alcoves on every side and the omnipresent greens crawling all over the walls and ceiling. Warm sunlight was broken by a long row of stained glass windows and reflected by golden plates full of artful morsels and fruit atop a chest of drawers to his left. In the corner some kind of big water basin illuminated the ceiling in an ever changing pattern of blue. A massive bed, that was covered by a luscious fur blanket, dominated the room, but it wasn’t what caught Frank’s eye first. There was a luxurious cream ball gown presented on a mannequin in one of the alcoves, complete with jewelry and some kind of crown on its stuffed head. Obviously he wasn’t quite meeting his captor’s expectations. Frank had no idea what to make of that.

 

~~🌹~~

 

Gerard Way tended not to believe in luck. He had accepted his fate when a curse had destroyed his life and trapped him and his three best friends Ray Toro, James Dewees and Bob Bryar in his own castle, but after the little face-off he had just had with that bumpkin, he might just change his opinion. The last twenty four hours had been a sequence of disasters, everything had gone wrong, that possibly could. First that woman had taken one of his precious roses, then she had sent him a guy instead of a girl and now the boy had turned out to be an utter brat.

 

An uncultivated brute, who cursed like a trooper and didn't pay him the respect he was due. More likely than not he had never had a proper education and probably couldn't even read. Admittedly, Gerard was maybe a little bit impressed by his lack of intimidation, but that was pretty much the only positive thing about that guy. He entered his den at the very top of the highest tower and curled up in his corner, flicking his tail in agitation. No, he wouldn't kill the boy, like he had demanded, but he had no idea what to do with him either, since his original plan had just blown up in his face. To love and be loved by another. Yeah, not very likely.

 

Meanwhile his friends came running up the spiral staircase after him, chatting excitedly about the arrival of their guest. "I like him", Bob stated, scratching his ear with his hind leg. Even after all these years it was just as bewildering as the very first time to hear a man's voice come out of a puppy. Gerard would never get used to it. "Me too", James agreed with a huge dog grin. Of course. They would side with anyone who dared to stand up to him. This was nothing like he had expected this day to go. He needed a girl to break the curse! This just wasn’t fair!

 

"He's got balls t-...", Bob started to say and Gerard finally snapped. "That's the problem!", he roared, balling his fists until his claws pierced his skin. "Why does it bother you so much that he’s male?", James asked him with a frown. "Yeah, nobody said that it had to be a woman", Bob added his two cents. Gerard gritted his teeth. He knew only too well what had been said, thank you very much! But there was absolutely no way he would fall in love with that peasant. "This isn't how it was supposed to be", he ground out, trying and failing to control his temper. "Are you kidding me?! Look around you, none of this was supposed to happen!", Bob blurted out incredulously. "Tell that McCracken!", Gerard snarled menacingly. God, he knew that he had more than deserved his punishment, but sometimes he would like nothing better than to gut the thrice damned trickster with his bare hands! However, he was pulled out of his vengeful musing by James, who yelled: "Stop it, both of you!", at the top of his lungs.

 

Gerard immediately snapped his mouth shut. His friend never raised his voice, him and Ray were the most laid-back people he knew. So this was... unusual, to say the least. "Look, he’s the first... well, second person to come here ever since that day. Do you really want to wait until a girl, who is to his Majesty's tastes shows up? How long do you want to live like this? I don't know about you, but I'm sick of it!", James declared heatedly. Gerard lowered his head in shame. It hadn't occurred to him that his refusal to even attempt to break the curse, now that he had the chance, meant that his friends would still be stuck here with him. It could be years until another opportunity presented itself. He had to give it his best shot, he owed them that much, after all he was the one to blame for their predicament. There was just one tiny little problem...

 

"How does one even court a guy?! If he were a girl, I'd give her flowers, jewelry, clothes and perfume and be done with it! What shall I give him, a crossbow he can shoot me with?", he sighed, staring at a crack in the ceiling and already dreading the task ahead. Apparently his friends didn't have anything to say to that. When he finally looked down, they stared at him with matching incredulous expressions. "You can't buy love, G", James murmured after a while, seemingly a bit uncomfortable. Gerard snorted derisively. None of them were any good at relationships. "I've always done it like that and it always worked!", he defended himself. "I'm sorry to be that person, but you're not trying to find a mistress, you have to make him fall in love with you! You're not a prince anymore, you're a beast, that threatened to kill his mother and holds him prisoner! You'll have to do a lot better than that!", Bob pointed out the obvious.

 

Gerard shrugged miserably. He didn't know anything about love, much less how to inspire it in someone else. "I have no idea how to do this", he murmured quietly as he buried his face in his paws. While he did have plenty of experience with seducing women, this was something else entirely. He was so out of his depth here. "You might want to apologize before you do anything else. The way you got him here wasn't the best start you guys could have had", James suggested. Gerard groaned. His day kept getting better and better.

 

~~🌹~~

 

Frank still couldn’t get over the splendor around him. The sable fur blanket on the bed alone would probably feed a family of four for an entire year. God, he felt so out of place here! His best clothes looked shabby in such a palace, even if they hadn’t been soiled and torn from the hellish ride through the forest. The young man carefully traced a darker stripe in the soft fur, almost afraid to touch it. Frank had gone to bed hungry more often than he cared to remember as a child. It had gotten better once he had grown up and been able to work, but still… Everything around him was worlds apart from what he was used to. A prison cell would have been easier to deal with than this.

 

Someone cleared their throat behind him and Frank whirled around, only to come face to face with his jailer. So much for ‘get out of my sight’. The beast looked calmer than a few minutes ago, almost hesitant, but the young man still felt his heartbeat quicken and his body tense up. Despite its somewhat human-like facial features and the clothes worthy of a prince, this was still a predator, a freak of nature. And he was only too conscious of the reason why he had come here. Was this gonna be it? The suspense was killing him.

 

After a few beats of tense silence the beast stepped forwards and placed a bundle of shimmery fabric on the bed. “For what it’s worth… I apologize for the way I got you here”, it murmured. Frank did a double take. Talk about mood swings, what the fuck had brought on this sudden change?! A mere fifteen minutes ago that monster had glared at him as if it had wanted to gut him then and there! “A-Alright, just... let me go then?”, he stuttered meekly and cringed at how insecure and small it sounded. “I can’t”, the beast replied with a scorn, as if it were about as eager to keep Frank here as he was to stay. Yeah, sure. Frank snorted and shook his head. Was this some kind of twisted mind game? “Why the fuck not?”, he spat and raised a challenging eyebrow. Once again his blatant disrespect seemed to trigger the monster, for it bared its teeth, hissed: “I have my reasons!”, and stormed out of the room. “Be ready for dinner by nightfall!”, it snarled before it slammed the door. Dinner?! For a moment Frank thought that he had misheard that. Did that beast want to fatten him up first or was he supposed to be the main course? Maybe he should turn up with an apple in his mouth, ready for the slaughter! God, this was so confusing!

 

Eventually he snapped out of it and started to get rid of the ripped remains of his clothes. He might as well take care of his scratches and wash the day’s grime off his skin. Frank sighed quietly when he slipped into the surprisingly warm water of the basin in the corner. His tense muscles gradually relaxed and he allowed himself to enjoy the sensation for a few precious moments. He hadn’t been so comfortable all day. However, suddenly a swarm of little sparks rose from the ground and swirled around him like a hive of fireflies, going straight to his injures and tickling his skin everywhere they touched him. It was a peculiar feeling, but when he reached down to scratch one of the biggest gashes on his calf, his fingertips only met smooth, immaculate skin. Frank gasped in shock and frantically searched for the lesions, that had definitely been there until a few moments ago, but to no avail. He shivered despite the warmth of the water. What was this sorcery?! The young man had always believed magic to be nothing more than a pipe dream of children and fools, but now he had a very hard time coming up with a logic explanation for what had just happened. He shook his head and climbed out of the basin, finding a soft towel where there definitely hadn’t been anything when he had gotten into the water. This place was seriously messing with his head.

 

Eventually Frank reached for the pile of clothes his jailer had left for him. It seemed to be some kind of embroidered, silver silk jacket with matching trousers, a waistcoat and a white shirt with that ridiculous bunch of lace hanging from the collar, that rich people were so fond of. As it turned out, dressing fancy was a lot trickier than he had expected, but eventually Frank won the battle against all the tiny buttons and the cuff links. He looked himself over in the big golden mirror and couldn’t help but cringe at his reflection. He looked absolutely ridiculous, like a frilly peacock. Just fucking great.

  

 

~~🌹~~

 

About an hour after sundown the door swung open and the puppy creature walked in, obviously expecting him to follow. Frank obeyed immediately. He had been stuck in his room with absolutely nothing to do, his thoughts wreaking havoc and his vivid imagination driving him up the walls. When they made it to the banquet hall, the beast was already waiting for him and gestured towards a single chair at the end of the feasting table. As soon as he noticed the delicious smell, Frank remembered that he hadn’t eaten all day. He was absolutely famished and hurried to sit down and fill his plate. If this was gonna be his last meal, he would damn well make the most of it. He ignored the countless sets of cutlery that were laid out on the tablecloth, just grabbed a random pair out of the middle and dug in.

 

It was better than anything he could have ever dreamed up in those cold, long nights with a rumbling stomach. He couldn't even name most of the dishes in front of him, but he devoured whatever he could reach with his hands. Except for those slimy shells and something that looked like snails, which was fucking gross. He passed on some yellowish stuff, that looked suspiciously like frog’s legs, as well, but apart from that he tried everything.

 

His ‘host’ was quiet for a long while, but eventually the beast broke the silence, just as Frank tackled a red… whatever it was, that smelled faintly of fish. “You can move freely all around my property, but by nightfall you have to return to the castl-...”, it started to explain, but Frank couldn’t keep his derisive snort inside. “What’s all this bullshit about? Just kill me already and put us booth out of our misery! Well, maybe let me finish this first, but you get the picture”, he interrupted his jailer with a cynical smile. Frank was fucking proud of himself for how steady his voice had sounded. The beast growled deep in its chest, apparently it wasn’t used to being cut short. In a way it was weirdly satisfying to get a rise of that monster. Maybe it would snap and kill him quickly, he was so tired of being its toy.

 

The beast rose from its chair and strolled towards him, continuing its monologue as if Frank had never said anything. “Every night at seven sharp you will be here. Don’t even think of running away, you wouldn’t survive in the woods on your o-...” Frank just couldn’t help himself and blurted out: “I’ll take my chances!” he had never been one to shut up and let himself be lectured like a child! The beast bared its fangs and hissed: “Well, I won’t!”, before it turned towards the door and a few sets of heavy latches slid into place, as if by magic. Frank swallowed hard, trying and failing to stomach that little display. So what, was he gonna be a prisoner for life? A plaything for that monster to do with as it pleased? Yeah… no. Not if he had anything to say about it. Without another word he stood and left into the direction of his room as quickly as he could without outright running. “I didn’t dismiss you!”, the beast roared after him, but he honestly couldn’t care less. Frank vowed then and there to find a way out of this fucking castle. He would bide his time until he came up with a plan, but there was no way he would knuckle under that thing. His mother hadn’t raised him to give up so easily.

 

~~🌹~~

 

Back at the feasting table Gerard knocked an armful of plates and food to the floor with a roar of frustration. That goddamn peasant! How dare he talk back to him like that! “Well, that could have gone better”, Bob murmured behind him. Gerard glared at the guy’s empty chair. “You have any brilliant ideas? Pray tell!”, James retorted irritably. “Boysss! Shut it!”, Ray sighed with a long suffering sigh. Gerard could just picture the way he rolled his eyes and gave them all his ‘Are-you-ever-gonna-grow-up’ look. The day had been draining in the worst possible way, Gerard was so done with this epic mess. He hung his head and wondered for the hundredth time what his brother would have done in his place.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll love you forever if you leave me kudos and comments.
> 
> Don't get used to the amount of pictures, there's gonna be less later on :)


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